Propellent powder



Patented Jan. 7, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,026,531 PROPELLENT POWDER George 0. Hale and Donald R. Cameron,

' Dover, N. J.

No Drawing.

2Claims.

Application March 20, 1934, 1 Serial No. 716,512

(Granted under the act of March a, 1883, as amended April so, 1928; 310 o. G. 757) moisture absorption and chemical decomposition.

2 not all that is to be desired.

One of the principal difliculties in preparing powders which yield no flash at the muzzle of guns resides in the fact that the common methods of eliminating flash involve the addition to the powder composition of ingredients which have the objectionable tendency of producing smoke when the powder is fired. The user is, therefore, confronted with the problem of choosing between a powder which flashes but produces a minimum of smoke and a powder which is flashless but produces more smoke than is really desired.

The purpose of this invention is'to provide a a5 non-hygroscopic, non-volatile and stable nitrocellulose propellent powder which is absolutely flashless and produces less smoke than powders heretofore in use. This purpose is accomplished by incorporating in the powder composition a 40 relatively small amount of triacetin. The-triacetin is the pure product or mixtures of it with small amounts of diacetin and monoacetin such as are obtainable commercially under the name triacetin.

45 It hasbeen found by flringpowders made from compositions containing nitrocellulose and triacetin that the triacetin is very eflicientin reducing the flash from the nitrocellulose powders and at the same time yields only a thin, fugitive 50 smoke whichis decidely less visible than that produced by any other flashless powders.

While satisfactory powders for some uses can be produced from compositions containing only nitrocellulose, triacetin and the commonly used 55 stabilizer diphenylamine, it has been found that some weapons than others.

powders that are more widely adaptable can be obtained by the addition of trinitrotoluene to the composition. Examples of compositions are given which have been thoroughly tested in 37m/m and '15m/m military weapons and found 5 to be not merely satisfactory but distinctly superior to other flashless powders from the standpoint of the amount of smoke produced when flashlessness is consistently obtained:

Per cegg o Nitrocellulose q Trinitrotoluen 15 Triacetin 5 Nitrocellulose 80 Trinitrotoluene Triacefl 10 These compositions are cited as representative but not limiting since various proportions of the three constituents have been employed in powders and their relative behavior established. It is to be understood that variations in the proportion of the constitutents are necessary when adapting the powders to speciflc weapons since the optimum proportion for one weapon may not be the optimum for another weapon. It is clearly recognized by those experienced in the preparation of propellent powders that the problem of eliminating flash is much greater with The length of the tube or barrel of the gun is one factor since a long tube permits greater radiation of heat from the gases before they issue from the muzzle and it is therefore easier to reduce the temperature of the gases below their inflammation temperature by the flash reducing agent employed in the powder. Thus with some weapons which have a long tube and require a relatively small amount of propellent powder to meet ballistic requirements, the addition of 2% triacetin may be sufflcient to eliminate flash while with a gun or howitzer which has a short tube and requires a much larger amount of propellent charge, 5%

or even 10% of the triacetin may be needed. If the percent of this constituent is varied the percentage of the nitrocellulose or trinitrotoluene must of course be changed accordingly.

We claim:

1. A propellent powder consisting of nitrocellulose, trinitrotoluene and triacetin twoto ten per cent.

- 2. A propellent powder consisting of nitrocellulose, trinitrotoluene and triacetin.

GEORGE C. HALE. DONALD R. CAMERON. 

